"Giddy up... giddy up... giddy up..."
Vast yellow clouds billowed, sand and dust swirled. A line of several hundred horsemen galloped across the open plains, their steeds' hooves flying, manes streaming. They were utterly exhausted, some horses foaming at the mouth.
"Fugui..." Suo Dacheng urged his horse on, catching up to Zhou Fugui. "Running on like this won't do. We can endure it, but the horses can't. If anything happens to them, it'll be a disaster."
In the wilderness, on the grasslands, losing one's horse was practically a death sentence.
"The pursuers are close, what shall we do?" Before Zhou Fugui could reply, Li Qing cried out in panic.
In the wilderness, on the grasslands, behind Zhou Fugui and his two hundred horsemen, the dust billowed like a vast carpet. The pursuers sent by Lin Yue numbered a thousand strong, hot on the heels of Zhou Fugui's two hundred Yan cavalry.
*What's with all the panic?* Zhou Fugui glared at the flustered Li Qing and thought to himself.
He was a frail scholar, and it was already commendable that he could keep up with Zhou Fugui and the others. Zhou Fugui couldn't bring himself to scold him.
"They're like persistent ghosts!" Zhou Fugui cursed loudly, glancing back at the dust kicked up by the pursuing cavalry.
"There's a small hill ahead. Brothers, follow me!" Zhou Fugui surveyed the surroundings. Not far away, he spotted a dirt slope with a small patch of woods at its base. He spurred his horse on, leading the way towards the hill.
Xue Wentai, the stout monk from Guanzhong, brandished his large ringed blade and rode up, calling out, "Hey, second son of the Zhou family, have you lost your mind in your haste?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhou Fugui retorted, looking back at Xue Wentai with annoyance.
"What are you going to do on the hill? Are you planning an ambush? You can only perform a 'Empty Fort Strategy' from a city, not a hill. Zhang Fei, Zhang Yide, with the Dangyang Bridge and the woods behind it, let out one roar at the bridgehead and scared away Cao Aman's million-strong army. What bird can your little hill scare away?" Xue Wentai bellowed.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Xue Wentai's words, though crude, held truth. In this place where one could jump over a horse's reins to reach a palm-sized patch of woods, setting an ambush was impossible.
"Do you have anywhere else to go?" Zhou Fugui's question silenced everyone.
The vast wilderness offered no towns, no mountains, no rivers. Zhou Fugui and his men truly had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.
"Xue Wentai, lead your men to the left flank. Suo Dacheng, lead yours to the right flank. The rest stay in the center. Archers, conceal yourselves. Though the hill and woods are small, today, Zhou will perform an Empty Fort Strategy for them." Zhou Fugui, having reached the top of the hill, issued orders one after another.
The men responded in unison, dispersing themselves on the hill and in the woods, preparing for a desperate fight to break through the encirclement.
Zhou Fugui then picked up his Zhu Yue bow, and alone on horseback, stood atop the hill, watching the approaching pursuers.
Over a thousand cavalry, more than two thousand warhorses, kicked up a vast expanse of dust, a terrifying spectacle.
...
"Captain Zhou, what play are you putting on? A bluff?"
The commander of the thousand-strong cavalry pursuing Zhou Fugui was a chiliarch named Xijialuo. Xijialuo was from the Western Regions and had been a slave on the grasslands. Lin Yue had saved him, and he was naturally willing to go through fire and water for her. Because of Xijialuo's bravery and combat prowess, and his repeated merits, Lin Yue had promoted him to chiliarch of the slave army.
Xijialuo had a rugged appearance but was not foolish. Seeing Zhou Fugui standing alone on the hill, with vague signs of an ambush in the woods behind him, he mused, *How many men can this small patch of woods possibly hide? Three to four hundred at most. And I have over a thousand cavalry. Even if it's an ambush, I'm not afraid.*
Furthermore, Xijialuo already knew that Zhou Fugui and his men numbered only around two hundred. Given this, why was Zhou Fugui putting on such a show?
Xijialuo halted his cavalry and asked with a wry smile, "Captain Zhou, what play are you putting on? A bluff?"
Xijialuo had been ordered to capture Zhou Fugui and his men. Before setting out, certain matters had been clearly explained to him. Therefore, Xijialuo intended not to engage in a fight with Zhou Fugui and his men unless absolutely necessary, and certainly not to kill them, but rather to capture them and hand them over.
Xijialuo would try persuasion first, and only resort to force if Zhou Fugui and his men refused.
"Are you the chiliarch Xijialuo? I've heard much about you, much indeed. Zhou offers his respects!" Zhou Fugui raised his Zhu Yue bow and chuckled. "This play is called the Empty Fort Strategy. Zhuge Kongming of Xicheng scared away Sima Yi. Have you heard of it? Heh heh, chiliarch Xijialuo, are you so sure it's an Empty Fort Strategy?"
"Stop joking, Captain Zhou. Come back with me. Speak a few good words to our master, and everything will be fine," Xijialuo said, shaking his head slightly.
"And what if Zhou is unwilling? What are the consequences?" Zhou Fugui asked with a smile.
*Better to find out first,* Zhou Fugui thought. *If Xijialuo has a kill order, or if they must be captured dead or alive, then I'll go back with him. Life is the priority.*
Zhou Fugui surmised that Lin Yue would not kill him.
"Captain Zhou Fugui, Xijialuo is also acting under orders. You needn't make things difficult for us, right?" Xijialuo's expression darkened as he spoke.
Hundreds of cavalry behind Xijialuo simultaneously nocked arrows onto their bows, awaiting his command to attack.
A volley of arrows like this would surely turn Zhou Fugui into a hedgehog.
A stir also arose behind Zhou Fugui. Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, Xue Wentai, and the others hidden behind him were also waiting for his command, growing impatient.
"They've already seen through it, so why continue hiding?" Zhou Fugui's expression was calm. He waved his hand towards Xijialuo and the others.
"Whoosh!"
Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, Xue Wentai, and the other two hundred horsemen emerged from the woods, riding onto the hill and surrounding Zhou Fugui.
The two hundred Yan cavalry, though few in number, were all formidable. Their armor and weapons were excellent, and their expressions were resolute. They stared coldly at Xijialuo and his men, awaiting Zhou Fugui's order to engage in a fierce battle.
Two hundred riders, yet they exuded the aura of a thousand-strong army.
"Chiliarch Xijialuo, what do you think of my brothers?" Zhou Fugui asked with a smile.
"Captain Zhou's subordinates are all like leopards and lions on the grassland!" Xijialuo praised loudly.
People on the grassland rarely lied. He genuinely believed Zhou Fugui and his men were indeed fierce.
"If that's the case, shall we fight a desperate battle? Who will emerge victorious?" Zhou Fugui asked again.
"Who will emerge victorious? Where is the deer here?" Xijialuo knew Chinese and some characters, but he didn't understand this phrase, so he asked with a confused expression.
"Uh..." Zhou Fugui explained, "It means who will win or lose."
*Isn't it just about winning or losing? What's with the deer? The learning of the Han people is truly strange,* Xijialuo muttered to himself, then said coldly, "Although you are skilled, you are no match for us."
Xijialuo's troops outnumbered Zhou Fugui's five to one. If he couldn't win this, Xijialuo would have no standing in the slave army.
"That's not necessarily true..." Zhou Fugui shook his head. "Who will emerge victorious is yet to be known! However, chiliarch Xijialuo, if we fight, both sides will suffer heavy casualties, at least some will be killed or injured. You won't deny that, will you?"
Xijialuo suddenly felt he had been tricked by this cunning Han. However, he still asked, "What exactly do you want? No matter what tricks you play today, you must come back with me."
"Very well, let's begin then. Let's fight to the death," Zhou Fugui said with a frank smile.
"This..." Xijialuo looked at Zhou Fugui and his men with some hesitation.
*This man cannot be underestimated.* Xijialuo was not afraid of fighting Zhou Fugui. What he feared was that Zhou Fugui might be the lover of Princess Consort Lin Yue. If they truly were lovers... Zhou Fugui would instantly become their master, and fighting him would not be a good thing.
It was not uncommon for powerful women on the grassland to keep a few lovers.
Could Zhou Fugui not see Xijialuo's hesitation? Otherwise, he would have ordered a fight from the start. So, he smiled at Xijialuo and said, "I am a captain under the Princess Consort, and you are a chiliarch. Why must we pursue this so relentlessly? To avoid casualties among our troops, how about we have a duel? If you win, I will go with you, no questions asked. If you lose, I will be free to roam the seas and skies, how about it?"
"A duel? How shall we duel?" Xijialuo always felt something was amiss but couldn't pinpoint it, so he asked hesitantly.
Unbeknownst to him, Xijialuo had already fallen into Zhou Fugui's trap...
"Three arrows to decide the victor, how about it?" Zhou Fugui replied, holding up his Zhu Yue bow.
Years ago, Zhou Fugui had defeated Pu Yijian, the number one archer of the Great Yan Kingdom, from his horse. Now, after his trials in Snow Chill City, his archery skills had reached the pinnacle of perfection, finding few equals in this era.
"Ah? Three arrows to decide the victor? Very well, I agree. But if you lose, you're not allowed to go back on your word!" Xijialuo still said hesitantly.
Xijialuo, of course, did not know Zhou Fugui, and he was quite confident in his own archery skills, believing he would not be defeated by this Han. Men on the grassland were confident in their horsemanship and archery skills, and they also looked down upon the Han people.
Furthermore, in front of his subordinates, he couldn't lose face. When faced with a strong enemy, men on the grassland would always face the challenge head-on, or else they would be scorned and despised.
"Haha, good!" Zhou Fugui laughed heartily. "You are older, so I shall take the first three arrows... If I miss, then it will be your turn."
Xijialuo nodded, picked up a large shield, slung his bow and arrows over his back, and rode his horse some distance away from Zhou Fugui.
Although Xijialuo did not know Zhou Fugui well, he still chose to be cautious. Carrying a large shield was much safer.
This archery competition was different from their previous life-or-death struggles. Zhou Fugui held his Zhu Yue bow, patiently waiting for Xijialuo to prepare. Once he was ready, Zhou Fugui slowly drew an arrow, nocked it onto the Zhu Yue bow.
"Three arrows to the left, three arrows to the right, let's shoot together! Chiliarch Xijialuo, be careful, first arrow!" Zhou Fugui shouted at Xijialuo.